[gloom]

danieln: I had, and didn't care for, the HD580. I thought it lacked energy and kick. I kept wanting to raise the volume, to feel the sound in my gut, but even ear-blasting levels didn't "pull me in". I think the HD600 will be too polite, too reserved, and not visceral enough. I don't have the money or the inclination to get an amp nice enough to make the HD600 come alive.

darkwolf: I sold my SR-325 a couple of years ago

bootman: I will add the MS-II to my list.

Thanks for all opinions.

 

[wallijonn]

and of course there's the pad mod that i am working on that changes the whole sound of the grados. with the beyer 831 pads the brightness is GONE!. the transients are still there, but the high end rashiness disappears.

i will be working on some soft foam pads for the grados next week, after i go down to the distributor. i'm also going to ask him if he can work on a mold for me. then i'll be able to mass produce them (albeit 1 at a time). the distributor supposedly makes the foam himself. if not, i have some strange ideas for cutting the foam

if they work out i may have a distributor who's interested in carrying them after auditioning them. i will endeavour to have gerG do frequency reponse graphs to show comparisons of the pads.

 

[LTUCCI1924]

HI: I dont mean to be sarcastic but ant it much simpler just to get a headphone that needs no mods, new earpads, replacement cable, a amp that is strong enought to run them, great source, and any thing else just to get the sound that should just come with the headphone with out doing nothing but putting them on and haveing that great sound out of the box.

 

[wallijonn]

you mean like all the people who bought hd580/hd600's and then spent $200 for cables? and $500 for amps? and $100 for interconnects?

or buying a tube amp and then upgrading the tubes for $100 - $600?

or buying an amp, then upgrading to akg k1000's and finding out you have to upgrade the amp?

in my case, i bought the grados. a month later i find them to be "bright" and "uncomfortable". so i'd rather tweak them and hopefully someone here can benefit from my musings.

so Lou, how many cans have you owned, and how many do you have? i bet that there's been a lot of upgrading in your past. i suspect it's the same with everyone else here.

very few headphones don't need mods. we just learn to live with their shortcomings, like cables out of one side or two sides, fit, comfort, plays one type of music better, bright, veiled, analytical, underpowered, not enough bass, too much bass, not enough treble, too much treble, mid humps, mid sags, don't like open, don't like closed...

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

Originally posted by taoster Your assessment is spot-on! If you like ksc35, i think those two cans will be the big winner too.

taoster, as a fellow lover of the KSC-35

I'm trying to figure out why my views of the SR-325 are so different from yours. Perhaps it's the Earmax Pro -- whenever I've heard the SR325 from a solid state amp, it was harsh and bright, especially when compared to a headphone with the sound of the KSC-35 (and the CD3000 is just plain bright).

I've listened to every headphone mentioned in this thread, and if you have the amp, the DT770 is the closest match for the KSC-35

Keep in mind that I'm not criticizing any headphone, nor am I debating which headphones are "better" or "worse" -- I'm just trying to answer the question as to which headphones are the big brothers of the KSC-35

 

[danieln]

quote:
-----------
I had, and didn't care for, the HD580. I thought it lacked energy and kick. I kept wanting to raise the volume, to feel the sound in my gut, but even ear-blasting levels didn't "pull me in". I think the HD600 will be too polite, too reserved, and not visceral enough. I don't have the money or the inclination to get an amp nice enough to make the HD600 come alive.
-------------

Gotcha. Yes, the HD-600s don't have the same impact as the 7506s, for example. I think that's a characteristic of good open designs (airy, good soundstage) vs. good closed designs (more impact). It will probably be hard to find a good compromise.

 

[taoster]

Quote:

Originally posted by MacDEF taoster, as a fellow lover of the KSC-35 I'm trying to figure out why my views of the SR-325 are so different from yours. Perhaps it's the Earmax Pro -- whenever I've heard the SR325 from a solid state amp, it was harsh and bright, especially when compared to a headphone with the sound of the KSC-35 (and the CD3000 is just plain bright).

my whole setup is more on the warm and euphoric sound, with the telefunken tube and art dio(mod, lot more smoother than the arcam cd72). So much so that the phones are all tweaked to bring out the highs!! For the SR-325, i am using the comfies with the center cut out to increase treble and sharpen sound. Even with the HD580(Cardas) has little holes punched to increase its treble and attack.

I did a quick test with a Sony PCDP+Porta Corda+SR-325.. you're right it's a little harsh and not quite as pleasant as when paired with the EMP. It's a shame cos it's really quite a marvel with the EMP.

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

Originally posted by taoster my whole setup is more on the warm and euphoric sound, with the telefunken tube and art dio(mod, lot more smoother than the arcam cd72). So much so that the phones are all tweaked to bring out the highs!! For the SR-325, i am using the comfies with the center cut out to increase treble and sharpen sound. Even with the HD580(Cardas) has little holes punched to increase its treble and attack. I did a quick test with a Sony PCDP+Porta Corda+SR-325.. you're right it's a little harsh and not quite as pleasant as when paired with the EMP. It's a shame cos it's really quite a marvel with the EMP.

Ah, that clears things up a bit. Also a good tidbit to know (file away in mental Rolodex: EMP + SR325 = good

)

 

[SumB]

Take the SR325 and up the robustness, refinement, soundstage, organic qualities, bass slam, and instrument separation by significant levels and you'll have the RS-1.

 

[Toe]

Ditto MacDEF's comments on the DT770. The best way to describe them is slammin yet smooth. But they definately have to be paired with the right amp...

 

[lini]

gloom: I'd recommend to give the AKG K240S a listen - it's 139 Euro over here. And maybe you should also try a Beyerdynamic - I'd recommend the DT531 (99 Euro in Germany), but maybe the DT831 would suit your tastes even better... I can't comment on the new DT880, yet, but I'll try to get hold of that in the near future, too.

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini